PARIS – Sixth-seeded Serena Williams overcame a shaky second set to beat
France's Sarah Pitkowski 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-1 on Tuesday in the first round of the French Open.
|  | | Martina Hingis sizzled against Gala Leon Garcia of Spain on Tuesday. Hingis defeated Leon Garcia 6-1, 6-0. |
No. 1 seed Martina Hingis and No. 4 seed Jennifer Capriati advanced to the second round in straight sets.
Williams closed out the match, her first in a tournament since March,
with a service winner as sister Venus and father Richard Williams
looked on.
The mood on Suzanne Lenglen court turned decidedly ugly when
Pitkowski angrily argued a line call when leading 6-5 and
battling to level the match.
After an animated discussion with the chair umpire,
Pitkowski returned to the service line in tears. The crowd
jeered and whistled at the decision, refusing to let Williams
serve despite eight pleas for calm from the umpire.
The hostilities intensified during the tie-break with both
players disputing calls and exchanging menacing glances.
"I get a lot of that," said Williams, who was booed after
pulling out the tournament in Indian Wells and then her father plunged the
sport into controversy with allegations of racism. "I deal with
it.
"Sometimes it gets a little rough and trying but, like I
said, I seem to get it a lot. But I don't care, it's over with
and I'm going onto the next round."
Hingis noted that
Monday's upset of Venus Williams would make her path easier, but
offered sympathy for the second-seeded American.
"I know what it's like to lose in the first round. I've been
there," said Hingis, who was twice ousted from Wimbledon in her
opening matches.
That wasn't an issue for her this year, though. Hingis swept into
the second round with a crushing
6-1, 6-0 victory against Gala Leon Garcia of Spain.
The Swiss world No. 1 was in imperious form as she
began her bid for a first French Open title.
A finalist in 1997 and 1999, Hingis tore through the first set
with the minimum of fuss, moving the Spaniard from side to side
on the Center Court.
She refused to ease up in the second set and tormented Leon
with her unerring accuracy before closing out the match after 58
minutes with a forehand.
Capriati, who could face Hingis in the semifinals, began her campaign for a second
straight Grand Slam title in style, beating France's
Emilie Loit 6-2, 7-5
"I just played one point at a time," said Capriati. "I didn't
get nervous at all, I just went for it."
The No. 4 seed double faulted seven times en route to a 1 hour,
5 minute victory. Down 5-2 in the second set, Capriati won the
final five games to defeat her 81st-ranked opponent.
Three-time champion Arantxa
Sanchez-Vicario, who is seeded 11th, dropped the first set before
winning her opener. Last year's runner-up, eighth-seeded Conchita
Martinez, also advanced, as did No. 10 Amanda Coetzer, No. 16
Meghann Shaughnessy and No. 17 Sandrine Testud. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories |
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